


Fugue

by ficmuse



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark Betty, Dark Jughead, F/M, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 12:22:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10437666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficmuse/pseuds/ficmuse
Summary: There are two Bettys. One of them Jughead has barely touched. He knows every inch of skin on the other.Pre-Series Prologue; Post 1x7 PresentTrigger warning: mention of rape





	1. Before

_It was impossible to tell one from the other. One of them he had barely touched. He knew every inch of the skin on the other. One was a straight trajectory. The other was a staircase drawn by Escher. One of them revealed. The other concealed. She was a Möbius strip, twisting around herself._

_Her devil was in the details. The tilt of her head; the set of her jaw. The look in her eyes sorted him into one role: friend or lover. One or the other. Never both. He could have her mind or her body. She didn't give him a choice._

_Someday there would be just one girl. Maybe whole; maybe broken beyond repair. Any shards of her that remained, he'll hold onto even if they cut him. He'd rather have a handful of pain than a heart full of nothing._

_Was there a gentle lover in there? He looked into eyes of clear blue and found no answer. She was all passion and fire or none at all. If she loved him, would she even remember? Would she give him everything he had ever wanted one day and a blank stare the next?_

Prologue- Freshman Year

_The Journal of Jughead Jones_

Friday, March 18

Spring break is next week. The school is abuzz with all the happy family plans of beach houses, cruises or just visiting Grandma and Grandpa down in Florida. I’ll be here in town, running the drive-in. Next weekend’s double feature will be two beloved seasonal classics: _Easter Parade_ and _The Ten Commandments_. I like the balance: a little Irving Berlin; a little swords and sandals epic. I’m not sure if God really exists, but if he does, I’m sure he sounds just like Charlton Heston.

Betty’s headed to a time share in the Poconos for the week with the fam. Archie and his dad are going camping next weekend. I’m sure I’ll have a better time here, eating marshmallow Peeps and watching my movies.

The daily Betty: blue sweater; key necklace; ponytail, curled at the end. Pink lip gloss. Bedtime: nightgown. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 3. Mention of her feelings for me: 1 (friendship).

Saturday, March 19

This weekend’s double feature is _The Lady Vanishes_ and _Rear Window_. Ticket sales have been lower than usual. The heathens in this town don’t appreciate art. It’s Hitchcock, for fuck’s sake. Film doesn’t get much better than that.

Betty joined me in the booth at the drive in. “Here’s my price of admission, Jugs.” She handed me a plate of brownies. “I thought you might be hungry.” She had also brought me a BLT, wrapped in wax paper, chips and a pickle. A soda, too, and still cold.

“Have I told you lately that you are my favorite person in the whole world?”

She smiled. “You tell me that all the time, Jugs.”

After the movies, she lay on my bed for a while, talking Hitchcock. We disagreed on his best work; I was straight up _Rear Window_ ; she was arguing for _Vertigo_. Half past midnight, she got up. “I need to get back before curfew.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

We walked back to the Cooper house. Betty and I were arm and arm. “You know, I’ve been thinking, Juggy. You would make some girl a great boyfriend.” She turned her head towards me and gave me a sweet smile.

My heart beat faster. “Do you have someone in mind, Betts?”

We walked up to her front door. She turned towards me, her face animated. “I do. Someone sweet, and kind, and caring. Who likes the kind of movies you watch. Who wants to talk about the big issues, the things that are important to you.” She smiled. “Plus, she really likes to cook.”

“So, who-“ My voice cracked. Jesus. “So just who is this fabulous girl, Betty Cooper?”

“Ethel Muggs!” She clapped her hands. “She’s perfect. Perfect! You totally need to ask her out.”

Cue the fucking heartbreak. I am the king of the friend zone.

The daily Betty: yellow sweater; key necklace; ponytail, curled at the end. Dark pink lip gloss. Bedtime: white nightgown. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 0. Mention of her feelings for me: 0. Held her arm when I walked her home.

Sunday, March 20

Some might call this stalking. I am uncomfortable with my behavior, but I can’t seem to stop doing it. It’s inevitable, that one of these nights I will look in Archie’s window and see Betty there. Or vice versa. They’re both teetering on the edge. Archie, the idiot, is still deciding if he wants to “take it to the next level.” Betty’s anxiety is fueling her hesitation. I am really grateful for Betty’s anxiety, because without it, they would be dating right now. When they finally hook up, I don’t know how I’m going to hold it together.

Archie’s bedroom light is on. Betty’s sitting on her window seat, reading. I tighten the focus on the binoculars. She’s reading _Assertiveness: How To Get What You Want_. If I’m not mistaken, and I’m pretty good at Betty trivia, this is the fifth time she’s read it. I’m pretty sure self-help isn’t cutting it for Betty Cooper.

Here comes Jason Blossom, moving the ladder from behind the garage to Polly’s window. The Cooper parents must be hitting the Ambien pretty hard not to hear the clang when the ladder hits the windowsill. It’s Sunday; Jason and Polly fuck every Sunday and Thursday at the Cooper house, at midnight. Presumably they get down and dirty elsewhere the other nights of the week. I don’t get the relationship. They hook up all the time but don’t say a word to each other at school. Love is a funny thing.

The daily Betty: pink sweater; key necklace; ponytail, straight. Clear lip gloss. Bedtime: pajamas. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 5. Mention of her feelings for me: 1 (friendship).

Monday, March 21

Betty has the flu. Her parents wanted to cancel the trip. Betty talked them into going. She’s alone in the house, with Fred promising to keep an eye on her. Betts has a twice a day Skype check in with her smothering mother. Betty and Polly hugged goodbye about fifteen times. I miss sister hugs. Jellybean’s are the best.

I made her chicken soup. She said she wanted some and showed me the recipe. I took a picture on my phone and walked to the Savvy Shopper. Back in her kitchen, she talked me through it and I successfully produced soup. She was adorably grateful.

Archie came over after he was done with his chores. We watched _Rebel Without A Cause_ and _West Side Story_. Betty liked both; Archie liked neither. Sitting between them on the couch was exquisite torture. She kept glancing at him; he kept glancing at her. Stick a fucking fork in my eyeball.

The daily Betty: blue fuzzy bathrobe with matching slippers; pajamas with kittens; hair down, wavy. No makeup. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 5. Mention of her feelings for me: 3 (friendship; gratitude). Goodbye kiss on the cheek; hugs for the soup.

Tuesday, March 22

Betty is still miserably sick. She wanted Chicken and Stars soup, applesauce and ginger ale. Another trip to the Savvy Shopper and she was all set.

She asked to watch another musical, so we watched _South Pacific_. She fell asleep halfway through, on my shoulder. I let her sleep while the film played on. She was soft and warm. Her shampoo smelled like coconut.

That afternoon, we watched horror. _The Fly_ and _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ , the original 1950s ones. I explained that the monsters symbolized the American fear of Communism. Betty didn’t know that. It was a really great conversation.

Fred and Archie came by with a casserole for dinner. We played Monopoly afterwards. I’m always the shoe; Betty is always the dog; and Archie is always the car. Fred said that he didn’t particularly care what piece he had. Sacrilege.

The daily Betty: blue fuzzy bathrobe with matching slippers; pajamas with pink polka dots; ponytail, straight. No makeup. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 0. Mention of her feelings for me: 2 (friendship; gratitude). Goodbye kiss on the cheek.

Wednesday, March 23

Betty was feeling better today. At her request, I brought over a pizza from Antonio’s. Pepperoni, extra cheese.

We watched _Lawrence of Arabia_. I told Betty about the Cinemascope process they used to film it and how none of us would ever see the film as the director intended it to be seen. It’s a really long movie and we both fell asleep during it. I woke up on the couch with her head in my lap, her hand in mine. Betty Cooper had held my hand in her sleep. She has delicate, soft hands.

She woke up, moved her hand away from mine and sat up. “Jugs! You stayed with me all night.” She smiled at me, a glint in her eye. “I’ve never spent the night with a boy before!”

I grinned at her. “So, was it good for you, honey?”

She laughed and smacked me in the face with a throw pillow.

Betty was starting to feel much better; she had an appetite. “I am totally craving chocolate chip pancakes from Pop's.”

“Your wish is my command, Betts.”

The sun was rising. We walked down the street towards Pop’s, in the weak light of dawn. She took my hand and held it in hers. “You are so sweet to me, Jug. You’ve taken such good care of me while I’ve been sick.”

“I didn’t have anything better to do.”

We had pancakes, her treat. Mine were banana, heaped with slices of fruit and pieces of pecan. Pop had topped them off with whipped cream and cherries. Delicious.

The daily Betty: blue fuzzy bathrobe with matching slippers; pajamas with yellow daisies; ponytail, straight. Blue sweater; key necklace; ponytail, straight. No makeup. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 0. (Yay!) Mention of her feelings for me: 2 (friendship; gratitude). Goodbye kiss on the cheek; held hands; slept together on the sofa holding hands (!!!!!!).

Thursday, March 24

Today, we helped Betty paint her bedroom. She’s been bitching about the Pepto Bismol pink for months. Fred drove us to the hardware store. He helped Betty pick out the right paint and brushes and lent us some drop cloths and a step ladder.

Back at Betty’s house, Archie and Betty and I moved the furniture around and painted. Archie was excellent; Betty was pretty good; I did a somewhat crappy job.

When we were done, we looked at our handiwork. The room was now a gentle leaf green with crisp white trim.

“I love it. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts,” said Betty.

“What do you mean?” asked Archie.

“You know how uptight Mrs. Cooper is, Arch. She wants Betty to live in Barbie princess land forever. She can’t deal with the fact that Betty’s growing up.”

“Do you know that she still picks out my clothes in the morning?” said Betty. “I’m not in control of anything in my life.”

“I bet you five bucks that she paints it pink again by June,” I said.

Betty turned to me with a smile. “She’s nuts. It’ll be repainted the day after they get home.”

Archie laughed. “Your mom’s not that nuts, Betty.”

We cleaned up the room and gathered together the stuff we had borrowed from Fred.

Betty moved to close the window before we left.

“You have to leave it open,” said Archie. “Otherwise the fresh paint will seal it shut as it dries and you won’t be able to open the window.”

“Plus it smells in here from the paint,” I said. “Maybe you should sleep in Polly’s room tonight.”

After dropping off the stuff in Archie’s garage, we headed to Pop’s. Cheeseburger deluxe with a double chocolate shake. Betty picked up the check. Perfection.

The daily Betty: Riverdale High sweatshirt; jeans; key necklace; ponytail, straight. Clear lip gloss. Mentions of her feelings for Archie: 1 (friendship). Mention of her feelings for me: 1 (friendship). Goodbye hug.

Friday, March 25

I don’t even know where to start.

 


	2. After

**Sophomore Year**

Jughead had kissed sweet, innocent Betty Cooper twice. He remembered each moment perfectly. It was seared on his memory: the taste of Betty’s lips; her breath on his face; the sweet softness of her skin.

He’d been living at Archie’s for a week, one terrifying week where everything was bizarre and weird. Fred had asked a series of probing questions, about how he had eaten, his last dental appointment, money for field trips, for school lunch. Every twenty-dollar bill that Fred pressed into his hand burned another hole in his pride. Fred told him he could pay him back later. Jughead knew that Fred never intended to see any of the money again.

He was completely humiliated. Being escorted out of school by the sheriff, even though he had been released, hadn’t exactly helped his social status at school. There were whispers in the hallway. Someone had carved the word “killer” into his locker. He knew the truth.

Fred had provided an alibi to get him out of the police station. Jughead was grateful, so grateful, for Fred’s help. But Archie’s dad would not let up with the questions, with the gentle but firm interrogation at every turn. So many questions. He was tired of talking.

Betty had questions, too. He saw her at school, turning to him in the hallway with a smile. She wanted to talk, he was sure, about his homelessness, his dad, his miserable fucked up life. He couldn’t bear to tell her. She had enough problems. She didn’t need to deal with his.

After a week, Betty finally cornered him. “Hey, Jugs. Have you been avoiding me?”

He shook his head. “No, of course not.”

“Good. So you’ll meet me after school? I think we need to work on the Blue and Gold.”

“I don’t want to write an article about how I’m currently the prime suspect, Betts. I think I’ll pass on that one.”

“Juggie, you have an alibi. You’re not the prime suspect.”

“Well, who is? I have a whole school full of people spitting at me in the hall and leaving death threats in my locker. I’ve already been convicted by a jury of my peers.”

“Everyone who knows you knows that you’re not capable of this.”

“Yeah, that’s great. There are two whole people in this town who don’t think I’m the twisted sicko who took out Jason Blossom.”

“You have me,” Betty said, her face serious. “Who cares what everyone else says?”

“Fine. I’ll meet you after school.”

****

Kevin, Jughead and Betty looked at the murder board in the Blue and Gold room.

“There’s got to be something obvious that we’re not getting,” said Betty. “Some clue that’s right under our noses.”

Kevin shook his head. “I can tell you, Dad isn’t any better off than you are. He’s pretty much doing the same thing that you’re doing: staring at a bunch of suspects and not making any headway.”

“Well, we’re rolling out an issue any way.” Betty bit her lip. “It needs to be front page news that Jughead is not a suspect and has an alibi.”

“Betty, don’t do that.” His alibi was a lie. Trumpeting his innocence, with a completely fictitious alibi, was a dangerous and stupid risk to take. The minute that someone really pressed Fred for witnesses to corroborate the falsified time cards, Jughead was fucked. Straight up, direct to jail, fucked. He’d already spent time at Riverside Juvenile Correctional Center. He knew what awaited him.

“We will talk about it later.” She turned to Kevin. “Let’s regroup tomorrow and try to look at this in a different way."

Kevin said his goodbyes and left the two of them alone.

“So, Jugs, why don’t we go to Pop’s and talk about all this over a milkshake?” She smiled at him, her face eager.

“Betty, thanks, but I don’t think so.”

Her smile faded. “Jug, do you not like me anymore?” She bit her lip. “I mean, we kissed, and it was really sweet. Really, really nice.”

“It was.” His gaze fell to her lips. “I love kissing you, Betty.”

She raised her eyebrows. “So, why don’t we do it some more?” She reached out one hand and placed it on the side of his neck. “Like, now? How does right now sound, Jughead?”

He cupped her head in his hands and kissed her. It was as good as it always was; warm, sweet. She slipped her tongue in his mouth. He groaned and she kissed him harder, deeper.

She broke away. “So, you’ll meet me tonight at Pop’s?” She looked at him with eager eyes. He’d smudged her pink lipstick around her mouth. With one trembling thumb, he wiped it off her skin.

“Yes. I will.”

That night, he sat in a booth with Archie, Veronica and Betty. Of course, when she’d asked him to meet her, he’d assumed it was a date. He really needed to learn not to make assumptions. He wasn’t even sitting next to her; Archie was.

“So, I think it’s really important to let the students of Riverdale know, unequivocally, that Jughead is not a suspect,” said Betty.

Archie looked across the table at Jughead. He knew damn well that Fred had faked the alibi, just to cover his ass. “I think that you should just hold back until there’s a break in the case. A front page story on Jughead is just going to make things more difficult for him.”

Jughead really couldn’t deal with the notion of things becoming even more difficult. He was hanging on by a thread as it was. He was one elbow in the solar plexus away from having a complete meltdown in the hallway at school. “I agree with Archie. I think we should just sit tight and wait for the next break.”

“We are a lot better investigators than the police are,” argued Betty. “The two of us can figure this out. We can take the real killer to Sheriff Keller ourselves. I know we can do it.”

“I think you’re overestimating our skills.”

She smiled at him. “No. We’re unstoppable, Jugs. I know it. We make a great team.”

Veronica laughed. “God, you guys are so cute. Look at those puppy eyes!” She turned to Jughead. “You can’t resist those big eyes, can you?”

“No, I would do anything for Betty’s big blue eyes.”

Betty giggled. “You’re adorable.”

Archie sighed. “Okay, this is sickeningly sweet. I need to go meet Valerie any way. Later guys.” He stopped. “Jug, you need some money to pay the bill? I’ve got you covered.”

Jughead’s humiliation was immense. “No, man. I’m cool.”

Veronica patted Jughead’s thigh. “Well, I’ll leave you two love birds alone.” She cleared her throat. “You know, Jughead, the Bijou is showing _Vertigo_ on Saturday night. I know how much you love a good Hitchcock film. It would make a really nice first date for you and Betty, don’t you think?”

He was going to strangle Veronica Lodge with his bare hands.

“I would like that a lot, actually. Jughead, would you like to take me to the movies?” asked Betty.

“Yes, of course,” he answered.

*********

Riverdale was a very small town. There were only so many places to go and things to do. If you didn’t have a car, you had even less options. So, date night in Riverdale, the place to see and be seen on Saturday night, was the Bijou.

Betty and Jughead held hands as they stood in line for tickets. There was a long line for the box office that curled around the side of the building. They were about halfway there.

“You know, this offends me on a deep, personal level,” said Jughead. “We had a movie venue in town that focused on classic, important films. However, no one thought it was important to save it. Now they are running classic movies at the Bijou and selling out every single time!”

“Well, it means that you were right. Classic films are important and are good. More people are interested in them than you thought.” She gestured at the line. “Everyone is here.”

“But are they here to take in a cinematic masterpiece or are they here to make out in the back of the theatre for two hours?”

She shrugged. “Well, there is that. Maybe fifty-fifty?”

He smiled and held her hand more tightly.

After they bought their tickets, Jughead picked up a large popcorn.

“Extra butter, extra salt?” he asked.

“You remembered how I like it.”

He knew everything about Betty Cooper. Both the light and dark sides of the girl he adored. He could write the Betty Cooper Wikipedia, meticulously documented and detailed.

They walked into the main theatre and Betty stopped. To the left was the staircase up to the balcony. If you were on a date and you wanted to make out, you went to the balcony. If you were on a date, and actually wanted to watch the film, you stayed in the main, bottom seating level. Jughead had never sat in the balcony.

Betty moved down the aisle towards the front of the house, where the screen was. Jughead let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and followed her. She sat down in the middle of the third row and settled into her seat. He sat down next to her and took her hand.

The first half of the movie went well. Jughead whispered interesting trivia about the film in her ear. She smiled at him and nodded. They held hands and ate popcorn. It was a really awesome date.

Then, someone started throwing popcorn at them. It hit their heads and shoulders and bounced.

Betty turned around. “Knock it off!”

“Hey, Cooper! You lose a bet or something?” It was Reggie Mantle. Of course, because some jock dipshit had to ruin every moment of Jughead’s already fucked up life.

“Stop it, Reggie!” Betty turned around. “Stop throwing popcorn before I come back there and slap that smug smile right off of your face!”

“Betty, please,” Jughead said. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! It’s so not okay.”

Five minutes later, they were pelted with another shower of popcorn.

“This is bullshit!” Betty hissed. She got up and grabbed her jacket and her popcorn.

“Down in front!” someone yelled.

“Oh, fuck off,” she yelled back. Several people laughed.

She stood up, pushed her way to the end of the row and walked down the aisle.

Well, so much for their first official date. Jughead was disappointed but not surprised. He followed behind her. She stomped down to the fifth row and shoved her way through the line of jocks until she reached Reggie, in the dead center.

“You like popcorn, you Cro-Magnon fuckwad?” Betty said loudly. “Well, here you go!” She slammed the popcorn bucket upside down on Reggie’s head and stomped away.

“Jesus, Betty.” Betty grabbed his hand and pulled him down the aisle. At the end, she stopped. Tightening her fingers on his, she led him up to the balcony.

No one up here was watching the movie. Couples were scattered throughout the balcony, separated by a few seats in some unspoken code of pretend privacy.

She pulled him into the first row.

“I’m really sorry,” he whispered.

She turned to him and smiled. It was dark, sexy and mischievous. “I’m not. Being up here with you is going to be even better than the movie.”

She pulled his face close to hers and kissed him. It started hot and heavy and escalated from there. She was sucking face with him, deeply French kissing him with her hands shoved under his shirt. She ran her hands over his back.

“I make you hard, don’t I?” She lifted her eyebrows and smiled a very sexy smile.

“Yes,” Jughead gasped. Betty Cooper had her hand on the zipper of his jeans.

She leaned over and bit his earlobe. “Next time, I’ll make you even harder.” She gave his crotch a lingering squeeze and moved her hand back into her lap.

Ten minutes later she leaned over. “Can you get us some more popcorn, please?”

For the remainder of the movie, they held hands and talked about the film.

*****

The drama began as soon as he walked through the front doors of Riverdale High on Monday.

Reggie Mantle clapped his hand on Jughead’s shoulder, hard. “So, I see you got yourself a little girlfriend.”

“Please leave me alone.” He tried to walk away from Reggie before things escalated. As always, it didn’t work.

Reggie slammed him against the locker and poked him in the chest. “So, I see that Betty is following in her sister’s footsteps. Slutting it up seems to run in the family.”

“Shut up or I will fucking kill you, Reggie.”

“Everyone saw you sucking face at the movie theatre. So much for Betty’s reputation.” He shrugged. “No one is going to date her after this. No decent guy at Riverdale will. She’ll have to settle for bottom feeders like you.”

Jughead pushed Reggie away and walked to class. He spaced out during Mr. Conroy’s history lecture. Had he really ruined Betty’s reputation with a few kisses at the movies? What they had done wasn’t any different than every other couple in the balcony. Well, she had put her hand on his crotch. Which was...pushing the envelope in public, he guessed.

Ugh. He’d fucked up. His hormones and his bad rep were going to make things harder for Betty.

****

In English class, Miss Gillespie stood in front of the class. Her hands were on her hips, her lips pursed. “To say that I am surprised and disappointed in your test scores is a massive understatement. There was only one student in the class who scored a passing grade. Therefore, I was unable to curve the test. Most of you received a D; some of you received a C.” She began moving around the room, distributing the test papers.

Something hit Jughead in the back of the head. From experience, he identified it as a tightly balled up piece of notebook paper. Not really painful; just annoying.

“Thanks for fucking up the curve, Ted Bundy,” someone hissed.

Another ball of paper hit him in the head. “Fucking brown nose teacher’s pet!” That was Reggie.

“Class, please settle down.” Miss Gillespie handed Jughead his paper. “Nice job, dear.”

If he fucked up on purpose, would things be easier? If he pretended to be an idiot, would the actual idiots leave him alone?

Miss Gillespie clapped her hands. “So, since I foresee a flood of emails from angry parents about your grades, I am going to offer all of you a second chance. You are to form a group, watch a film, and give a short, five-minute presentation contrasting the film that I assign you to _Hamlet_. You are to compare and contrast the themes of the play and the film and be very specific. The team will get one grade and one grade only. You have to work together to get a good grade. The grades for the test will be removed and only the group presentation grade will count for this assignment.”

The class began chatting and formed into groups. Miss Gillespie went around, handing out DVD’s and making notes on her clipboard. She walked over to Jughead.

“Where is your group, Mr. Jones?”

“I do not want or need to be in a group. I got an A on the test. Can’t I just keep my A?”

She shook her head. “No. You need to do a group project just like everyone else.” She turned her head. “I need a group for Jughead. Who would like to work on the project with him?”

There was dead silence. Jughead closed his eyes and sighed.

“I will, Miss Gillespie.” It was Betty. She came over and put one hand on his shoulder. “We make a pretty good team.” She looked down at him with a smile.

God bless Betty Cooper. The girl was too good for this world and way, way too good for him.

“Perfect.” The teacher handed Jughead two DVD’s. It was _Kill Bill_. Both volumes, one and two.

“Really? Cool.” Jughead loved the films of Quentin Tarantino.

“I saved this one just for you, Jughead,” Miss Gillespie patted Betty on the arm. “It’s very gory, but the theme of revenge is key to both works. Just focus on that, dear.”

*******

They walked to Betty’s house after school to work on the project.

Her mom was in the kitchen, reading a magazine. She kissed Betty on the cheek. “How was your English test? Did you get an A?”

“No, there was a change of plan. Mrs. Gillespie assigned us a group project. Juggie and I have a movie to watch and a presentation to do.”

“When is it due?”

“This Friday.”

“Well, you need to get started then. No time to waste. Work hard.” Mrs. Cooper checked her watch. “I’ll be down to check on things every half hour or so. Just to make sure you kids are on track and focused on your work.” She raised her eyebrows. “Not each other.”

Betty sighed. “Mom, it is just Juggie. You’ve known him our entire lives.”

“Well, things have changed. You told me that you went on a date together. Boyfriends and girlfriends do not spend time together behind closed doors in this house.”

Betty nodded. “Whatever you say, Mom.” Her voice indicated her annoyance.

A door near the kitchen reached the Cooper’s basement. Mrs. Cooper opened the door and gestured for them to go in. “This door stays open. Understood?”

“We get it, Mom. No need to beat a dead horse.”

They settled into the basement and put on _Kill Bill_. Betty took out a notebook and made notes. She and Jughead stopped the movie a few times to refer to their copy of _Hamlet_.

After they watched the movie for about fifteen minutes, Betty turned towards him and straddled his lap.

She smiled at him, her eyes shining. “Hey there, handsome.”

“Hey beautiful.” He reached out and stroked a lock of her hair. “Bored with the movie?”

She grabbed his head in her hands and kissed him hard. It escalated quickly to a serious makeout session. Jughead was breathing heavily as Betty Cooper grabbed his shoulders and ground herself against his lap.

He pulled his mouth away from hers. “Betty, we need to stop,” he whispered.

She licked his ear. “Why?”

“We can’t do this now.”

She reached down between his legs and cupped him. “I think you really like this.”

“Your mother is right upstairs.” God help them both if Mrs. Cooper caught them grinding together on the couch. Betty would be grounded for the rest of her life.

She tilted her head. “Are you scared we will get caught?”

“Yes! Aren’t you?”

She smiled. “Not at all.”

Betty was nuts. She was biting his earlobe when he heard her mom coming down the stairs. He pushed Betty off and threw his jacket over his lap.

Alice appeared and placed a tray on the coffee table. “I’m just setting down this platter of milk and cookies.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cooper.”

“Enjoy your movie.”

As soon as she went back upstairs Jughead rushed to the basement powder room. He locked the door and unfastened his pants. He was hard as a rock, pre cum already leaking from his dick. He pulled his shirt up to his nipples and wrapped his hand around himself. She was turning him on so much. Jesus, she was amazing. Betty had  ground her crotch against his dick over and over.

Just thinking of it was more than enough. He came, gasping. He cleaned off his belly, refastened his belt and washed his hands. He looked in the mirror. He was flushed, panting. He had to pull it together. He splashed cold water on his face and dried it with a towel.

When he came back out, Betty was sitting on the couch, eating a cookie. “Hey Jugs. I rewound the movie a bit.” She turned to him with a smile. “Do you want a cookie?”

*****

Kevin, Betty, Jughead and Veronica ate lunch together the next day.

Betty had packed Jughead a lunch: double roast beef with cheddar on rye, chips and a cookie for dessert.

He was thrilled. “You’re the best," He meant it. Jughead stuffed the sandwich into his mouth. It was amazing.

“My English project group sucks,” complained Kevin. “We haven’t even started watching the movie yet.”

“I keep losing track of the plot and having to rewind our movie. I think I need to increase the dosage on my Adderall,” said Betty. “I’m super distracted.”

“I feel you,” said Kevin. “I swear I read the same ten pages of _Hamlet_ last night five times.”

Veronica nodded. “The struggle is real. I mean, I love Shakespeare in the Park. But on the page? Super boring.”

After lunch, Jughead walked Betty to gym class. At the door to the girls’ locker room, she kissed him. It was sweet and gentle. Jughead opened his mouth, added a little tongue, deepening the kiss.

She immediately moved away. “Juggie!”

“What?”

She was blushing. “My goodness.”

Yesterday afternoon this same girl had ground herself against him, moaning. It was very hard to keep track.

Betty shook her head. “Jug.” She smiled up at him shyly. “I just think PDA is kind of...inappropriate at school.”

“Oh. My bad.”

After school, they walked back to Betty’s. Down in the basement, they put on the movie. Betty took out her notebook and a pen. She stopped the movie a few times and took notes.

Mrs. Cooper came down with food, this time popcorn and Cokes. As soon as she left, Betty set a box of Kleenex on the couch next to Jughead.

“Do you have a cold?”

She smiled. “No, they are not for me.”

“Oh.”

Fifteen minutes later, she showed him what the Kleenex was for. She was kissing him like she was going to suck the tonsils right out of his face. She pushed her hand inside his pants and wrapped it around his dick.

Her hand was soft and warm and felt so good. “Oh my God, Betty.”

She paused the movie and pulled him into the little powder room, the box of Kleenex in her hand. She set the cardboard box down on the bathroom sink, unzipped his pants and pulled his underwear down. Betty kissed him as she worked her hand up and down.

He came. It spattered across his belly. She took her pinky and swiped it through the pool of cum on his stomach.

Her eyes widened. “You taste...salty. Like popcorn.” She smiled. “You taste exactly how I like my popcorn. That’s not so bad.”

He couldn't think of an appropriate response. “Thank you?”

She took a handful of Kleenex, cleaned him up and kissed his cheek. She went back to the couch, sat down and put the movie on. They ate popcorn and drank soda while they worked on the project.

He watched Betty instead of the movie. She was so beautiful. He loved the curve of her jaw, the shape of her eyes. This perfect angel of a girl had given him a spectacular hand job. Now she sat on the couch, eating popcorn, completely unfazed. He wanted to make her come, to watch when it happened to her. He wanted to make her want him, as much as he wanted her.

“I want to make you feel good,” he said. “The same way that you made me happy. It doesn’t seem right that you aren't happy too.”

She looked over at him and smiled. “Just being with you makes me happy, Juggie.” She held his hand.

*****

For lunch the next day, Betty had packed him an enormous Italian sub, a string cheese and chocolate brownies. “Wow. You take such good care of me.”

Betty smiled at him and gave him a kiss. “You need brain food so we can do well with our project.”

There was a naughty glimmer in her eyes. Was she teasing him about the ...sex stuff they’d been doing? Unclear.

That afternoon, she gave him a blowjob in the bathroom. Sweet little Betty Cooper, on her knees on the little bath mat in front of the sink.

“Betty, I’m close.” She had him braced against the wall, her hands on his hips. He watched her little blonde ponytail bob up and down as she sucked on him. She kept going and he came, biting his lip hard so he wouldn’t scream. She choked on it, pulling away from him. “I’m sorry.”

She rose from the floor, wiping her mouth. “Wow, that’s kind of...a lot in my mouth.”

“I couldn’t help it.”

She smiled. “Kiss me.” He kissed her, tasting himself in her hot warm mouth. It made him want her even more.

He put his hand on her waist. “It’s your turn, Betts. Let me take care of you, too.” But she shook her head, distracted him with some more deep French kisses, and left him alone in the bathroom.

***

After lunch the next day, she pulled him into the Blue and Gold room. She smiled at him. “Want to make out? I can’t wait until after school.”

He smiled. “I thought you didn’t like PDA at school.”

“I don’t, I think it’s gross.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But we have ten minutes until bell and I think we should take a good look at the supply closet.”

So, they stepped into the closet and shut the door. She pressed him against the wall and kissed him. Her hands pressed against his shoulders as they kissed, first gently, then deeply. She leaned forward and pressed against his erection.

“Oh my!” She gave a little laugh. “I think you’re really happy to see me.”

“I’m always happy to see you, Betts.”

“Well, you’re super happy today.” She smiled up at him, blushing.

“You turn me on,” Jughead said softly. “Everything. The way you kiss me. The way you touch me. Your smiles.” He grinned. “Your awesome sandwiches.”

She laughed and kissed him again. They were both late to their next class, unable to stop kissing and laughing with each other.

After school, they walked back to the Cooper house to watch more _Kill Bill_. In the kitchen was a note from Betty’s mom, telling them that they would need to find somewhere else to study. No unsupervised study sessions in this house, she indicated. Mrs. Cooper suggested walking to the library and using the media room.

“Well, we should head to the library then.” Jughead shrugged.

Instead, Betty Cooper pulled her sweater over her head and threw it on the floor. Her bra quickly followed. She was standing there, topless, her beautiful breasts bare, in the middle of her kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“I want you.” She threw herself at him, grabbing his ass and smashing her breasts against him.

They kissed their way across the hall and up the stairs. In her bedroom, she threw him down on the bed and unzipped his pants.

She gave him a blowjob, sweet and slow and then fast, strong. He came in her mouth, gasping. She moved to her knees and smiled down at him. “I liked watching you come.”

“I want to make you come, Betty.” He put his hand on her breast. He watched her nipple harden into a peak.

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to touch me.” She stared over his shoulder, not meeting his eyes, for several long seconds.

“Betty.”

She looked down at him and tilted her head. “Jughead.”

“Yes, it’s Jughead, your boyfriend. The one who loves you.”

She smiled down at him and pressed her hand against his cheek. “I love you too.”

“I love it when you tell me that.”

She lay next to him in bed and he pulled her into his arms. They made out and he could feel himself hardening again, just from the kisses and her naked chest against his.

“You’ve made me so happy,” he said. “Please let me make you happy. Please.”

She unfastened her pants and slipped them off. Now she was naked, next to him. He kicked off his pants and they were both naked in her bed.

She kissed him more and then she moved her hand between her legs. He watched her as she made herself come.

“Please let me touch you,” Jughead said.

She put her hand on his wrist and guided him between her legs. He slid his fingers inside her. She gripped his wrist, moving her hand where she wanted him and soon, she was coming again.

She looked up at him, her eyes hazy. “I want to make love with you.”

“I want to. I always do.”

“I’m scared to make love,” she said. “I’m scared.”

“We won’t do anything you don’t want to,” said Jughead. “We can stop whenever you want.”

“I don’t want to get pregnant,” she said. “I don’t want to wind up like Polly.”

"You know I have condoms, Betts. I always have them in my pocket."

She shook her head no.

“Then let me just...taste you.” He slid down her body. She moaned as he moved his fingers within her until she came. When she settled, he put his mouth on her clit and sucked.

She liked it. A lot. She came a couple of times and he kept going. He pushed his tongue in and out of her, mimicking with his tongue what his body badly wanted to do.

“Stop, please stop,” said Betty. Jughead immediately stopped and looked up at her. “I want you to come with me.”

She moved her body over him, arranged herself between his legs and sucked him into her mouth. They had never done this before. He was confused for a second and then it clicked. He figured it out: she wanted him to go down on her, while she went down on him. The position of their bodies was overwhelming; he could see her whole nude body. He licked and pleasured her while she sucked on him. It was almost unbearable in its intensity.

She came, and then he did, and she fell asleep in his arms. He kissed her forehead, smelling the sweet scent of Betty. His girl. The one he loved.

****

That night, they had milkshakes at Pop’s. She was adorable, in a happy mood. They talked more about _Kill Bill_. He explained why it was his favorite. She hadn’t seen any of Tarantino's other movies.

“I had an Amazon card from my birthday,” she said. “I ordered the Blu Rays of all of his movies! We can watch all of them together.”

They walked out hand in hand. Just as they were coming out, Reggie walked up with his pack of asshole jocks.

“Hey psycho killer,” he greeted Jughead. “I see you’re out with your skank.”

“Don’t call her that,” warned Jughead.

“Or what? You’ll shoot me in the head like you shot Jason?”

“Leave him alone!” yelled Betty.

“Or what?” Reggie punched Jughead in the gut. He doubled over in pain.

“You can’t just go around hurting people!” screamed Betty. “What is wrong with you?”

“Please, let’s just go.” Jughead took her arm but she shrugged away from him.

“Someone needs to teach you a lesson, Reggie,” said Betty, her hands clenched into fists.

“Well, the one to do it won’t be your little boyfriend. All you ever do is walk away, Jones. You never fight back!”

“Maybe one day I’ll snap and it won’t be a very good day for you, Reggie.”

“I don’t think so.” Reggie turned to Betty with a sneer. “So, you as good a fuck as your sister? Jason said you were.”

“What?” Betty’s eyes widened. “That’s a lie!”

Jughead attacked Reggie. He threw himself at him with all his might. He knocked him down and slammed his head into the pavement. One of Reggie’s friends grabbed Jughead by the jacket and pummeled him, over and over.

When all was said and done, Jughead wound up down at the police station. He sat there, with gauze shoved up his nose, while Fred argued with the police officers. Finally, they left. “It’s a very good thing that the people eating in Pop’s saw Reggie jump you. Why didn’t you back off? Just take the high road and don’t let people get to you.”

“I’m tired of taking the high road,” said Jughead. “I’ve been walking on it my whole life and it has never gotten me anywhere.”

***

The next morning at school, everyone was at their lockers getting their things before the first class.

Jughead was at his locker. He was putting his books in his bag when he felt a slam from behind. He turned around to see Reggie. “I got grounded because of you, you fuckwad.” Reggie punched him in the stomach and Jughead doubled over, wracked with pain.

Fucking great. As Jughead stood back up, he saw Betty coming down the hall. She looked...weird. He realized that her hair was down. She had cut her hair into straight bangs across her forehead. She was wearing a tight, bright yellow sweater and black pants. As she reached them, she put one hand in her bag. She pulled out...a huge knife.

She stood next to Reggie and pointed it at his throat. “When do you want to die? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow?”

“Holy shit, Betts!” Jughead was shocked.

“Jesus Christ!” Reggie’s eyes widened. “You two are real life fucking natural born killers!”

Half the people in the hall ran away yelling. Half stared in fascination. Cheryl Blossom whipped out her phone and started recording them.

Reggie’s eyes were wide. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“Betty, give me that knife,” said Jughead.

Betty's eyes were shiny, wild. This wasn’t her, at all. This was the most un-Bettylike thing that he had ever seen her do. That was saying something.

“He needs to know that I’m serious.” Her voice was dark and deadly.

“I am taking you very fucking seriously right now,” said Reggie.

Jughead moved toward Betty. “Betty, give me the knife. Now!”

She turned toward him. “You can’t make me. No one can make me do anything I don’t want to do.” He voice was cold and clear and lacking in expression.

“I can’t make you do anything. I want you to know that this is wrong. What you are doing is wrong. Please give me the knife before someone gets hurt,” said Jughead.

She looked at him, confused. “But I do want to hurt him. He needs to be punished. He needs to pay for what he did to my sister.”

“I only fucked Polly a couple of times,” Reggie babbled. “She was into it. It was no big deal.”

“Reggie, for the love of God. Shut the fuck up,” said Jughead.

Betty’s hand tightened on the knife. “No big deal?” Her eyes were hard. Murderous. This girl wasn’t Betty. She walked in Betty’s skin. But there was anger and a fury that sweet Betty Cooper had never known.

Fuck, fuck, how was Jughead going to get her out of this? He turned his body, putting himself between Reggie and the knife. “Please give me the knife. Betty, this isn’t who you are. This isn’t you.”

She blinked.

Jughead saw the front doors of the school open. In strolled two cops. Cops had guns. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He turned to Betty. “I love you. You are kind and sweet and good. You are not the kind of person who hurts other people.”

Her eyes filled with tears. Her hand shook. “I need vengeance,” she said. “For Polly. For me.”

“You don’t need vengeance, Betty,” said Jughead. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Please drop the knife before you get hurt.”

The cops were getting closer. Closer to shooting range.

He stepped as close to Betty as he could. Blocking a clear shot. The cops would have to shoot through him to hit her. He couldn’t lose her, not when she was his at last, all of her. “I love you, Betty. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise.”

Betty dropped the knife and began to cry. “Jason hurt me! He did! He said that he thought I was Polly. I was sleeping in her room and he thought it was her.” Her voice choked. “When I woke up he was inside me!”

Jughead kicked the knife away. It slid across the floor. Reggie bolted, running towards the cops.

“Betty, he’s dead. He can’t hurt you any more.” He held her shoulders in his hands. “He’s dead, baby. He’s dead.”

She screamed, her hands in fists. “I didn’t want him to touch me. It wasn’t supposed to be me! I'm not Polly!”

“I know, Betts. I know.”

She swooned. He caught her in his arms as she fell to the floor.

The hallway was filled with people, yelling, running around. Jughead shoved everyone away and wouldn’t let anyone touch her. The cops pulled her from his arms and put her in handcuffs. Betty’s expression was blank as they led her away.

Jughead was paralyzed. What could he do? How could he help her now? Would she be okay?

Mr. Weatherbee clapped his hand on Jughead’s back. “Show’s over. You need to get back to class.”

“What? Like nothing happened?”

“The school day isn’t over. Make the most of your time.”

In English, Jughead gave the presentation on _Kill Bill_ by himself. He and Betty got a B.

*****

Although the town went wild with rumors, Betty wasn’t the killer. She had been thousands of miles away, in Los Angeles, for the entire month of July and most of August. Social media posts and cell phone records completely corroborated her alibi.

Whoever had killed Jason, it hadn’t been sweet Betty Cooper. The other Betty, the angry, violent shadow that Betty had revealed to the world, hadn’t killed him either.

Betty disappeared. It was weeks before Jughead saw her again. But when he came home from school one Friday, Betty was sitting on the front porch, waiting for him. It was still jarring to see her with her short bangs.

She smiled at him, her eyes bright. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” He put down his bag and sat next to her on the porch. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay. I’m getting outpatient treatment, now. I’m back home permanently. I start school on Monday, after much drama with Principal Weatherbee, my doctor, and my parents.”

“It will be really good to have you back.”

“I’m scared to go back. I don’t know how people will treat me. I’m afraid of having more dissociative episodes in front of people.”

“Dissociative episodes? Is that what they are called?”

“Yeah. It’s a way of dealing with trauma. Something would happen and my brain would try to protect me by checking out. I’m still working on my triggers, trying to figure them out.” She shrugged. “Anger and sexual attraction seem to be on the list.”

“I am not surprised to hear that.”

She sighed. “I was relieved to find out that I hadn’t killed Jason Blossom during some...fugue state.”

“You are innocent, Betty. You never did anything wrong.”

“I’m happy Jason Blossom is dead, though. Does that make me a horrible person?”

“No. He hurt you and he deserved to die.” Jughead’s voice was firm and hard and certain. “I never thought I was capable of murder, Betts. But you’re the one I love.”

“I don’t remember everything that happened. There are bits and pieces, but some parts don’t make sense. Or just can’t be real. But what I do remember is that you made me feel safe.” Betty put her hand on his arm. “You are someone that I can depend on. I don’t want to lose that.”

“You’ll never lose me. I will always be there for you, no matter what. But I don’t think I’m good for you,” said Jughead. “Being with me...it changed you into someone that you aren’t. I don’t want my darkness to change who you are.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t change. I just revealed different parts of myself. The ones that I wanted to be, that felt good. Someone powerful, and sexy, and in control.”

“You were all of those things with me.” He kissed the palm of her hand.

She smiled at him. “When we were alone in my bedroom, that was me. I was there. I remember that. But after that, I went all off the tracks crazy and ruined it all. How can you ever trust me again? I can always snap again, have a fugue state, and lose who I really am. You won’t ever know what’s real.”

“You’re real.” He loved her so much. “I want you to show me who you really are, Betty Cooper. Whoever that person is, I want to be with her. All of the bits and pieces, whatever they are; good, bad, or something in between. All of you.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I need to deal with what happened to me. I need to take time to sort out my feelings about being assaulted; about sex and desire. I want to be with you with a clear mind and a calm heart. I’m not there yet. Not even close.”

“Why don’t we go back to the start?” said Jughead. “Just...reboot our relationship. We can begin with sweet kisses and holding hands. We can even have a first date, all over again. The real me can get to know the real you. I can take you to Pop’s and we can get to know each other.”

“I have a different idea.” Betty looked over at him with her big, blue eyes. “I think that we should watch a movie tonight. We can pick another film from the Tarantino oeuvre and watch it on the big screen in my basement. Sound good?”

He stood up from the stoop and helped her to her feet. “Sounds perfect. It’s got to be _Reservoir Dogs_. It’s his first film. If you want to start at the beginning, that’s what we should do.” They walked hand in hand to Betty’s house, talking Tarantino.

_Jughead kept a log. What Betty wore; her hair; her mood. Her lipstick was important; it was often the most obvious difference. He tracked the clues, connected the dots. She was a mystery to solve and he was determined to crack it._

_His conscience was a twisted thing, battered into submission by his loneliness and need. A scrap was better than nothing. But did she ever wonder how that bruise had appeared? Or why she had that soreness between her thighs? It was hard to weigh consent when his body was as bruised as hers. She bit; she bruised. She left her marks on him, body and soul._

_There were infinitesimal differences between the girl who was gentle and the girl who wasn’t. Was there a calculus of Betty? Did he just need to discover the right formula to make sense out of this? One day, would he plug in the variables and see the answer?_

_Could he hold on to all these scraps of her and construct a whole girl? Or was she just shreds, never whole? In the end, was she just confetti in the air, slipping through his hands forever?_

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback. It makes a writer happy.
> 
> This fic was inspired by Cole Spouse, trolling the fans about Jughead being the killer. Our sweet Jughead wouldn’t do that! But if someone hurt Betty? Hmm. What could have made Betty go Dark Betty and make Jughead a killer? Some bad shit. No, I don’t think we will see this on the show. Just a twisted little daydream.
> 
> “When do you want to die? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow?” is a line from Kill Bill. Tarantino is God.


End file.
